Memo to fans focusing in on the general merits of the Rockies’ hitting and pitching: You’re missing the obvious.

The Rockies are the best-fielding team in the National League West and perhaps many points beyond. They showed it once again tonight.

Troy Tulowitzki bolting to his left and spinning to get off a throw to rob Justin Upton of a hit. Seth Smith crashing into the wall to take extra bases from Chris Young. Carlos Gonzalez making a diving catch on the left-field foul line to steal a double from Miguel Montero.

PHOENIX — Ubaldo Jimenez will attempt to become the first 20-game winner in Rockies history tonight when he faces the Diamondbacks at Chase Field.

OK, well complete the sentence now. When he faces the Diamondbacks at Chase Field in a virtual must win for the Rockies.

It’s pretty simple. The more Jimenez and Jorge De La Rosa lose, the more the Rockies’ fate will be left in the hands of relatively inexperienced pitchers such as Jhoulyis Chacin and Jason Hammel, and an oft-injured veteran, Jeff Francis.

Moral to the story: Jimenez needs to win every game from here on out, especially in the aftermath of De La Rosa losing to the D-Backs Tuesday night.

PHOENIX — The Rockies can ill-afford a loss to the lowly Diamondbacks tonight.

Or tomorrow night. Or Thursday night.

You know the drill. It’s late September and every loss hurts worse than your latest 401(k) statement. The good news for the Rockies is that they have Jorge De La Rosa on the mound. De La Rosa has won four straight decisions, and the Rockies have won his last five starts.

PHOENIX – Though Aaron Cook was pain free after throwing 50 pitches in a simulated game today, there are no guarantees Cook will be the starter Thursday against the Padres.

Manager Jim Tracy made that clear in today’s pre-game session with the media. Tracy said he won’t make a final decision until next week.

There are a number of options:
* Cook could start Thursday against the Padres, pushing back Jason Hammel’s start by a day.
* Hammel would make the start Thursday on normal rest and Cook would pitch against the Cardinals on Friday.
* It could be veteran Jose Contreras, not Cook, who re-enters the rotation. Contreras is recovering faster than anticipated from a strained quadriceps muscle.
* The Rockies could use both Cook and Contreras in the same game.

Cook made it clear that he wants to start, but added that he will contribute any way possible.

“I felt g-o-o-d,” Cook kidded. “Seriously, I felt really good. I would like to start, but I’m going to do whatever the club needs.”

Cook said there is no soreness in his right shoulder and believes his velocity is good.

“They guys I faced today all said I looked fine,” Cook said. “We didn’t have a (radar) gun on me or anything, but I felt like I was throwing hard.”

A clean-shaven Todd Helton (see my online news story about Helton’s decision to axe his trademark goatee) is back in the starting lineup tonight after a scary moment in Friday night’s game.

In the ninth, Helton was sitting in the dugout when a foul ball off Carlos’ Gonzalez’s bat came screaming into the dugout. The ball caught Helton flush in the left shin, leaving him numb from the shin bone down through his foot. Helton’s much better today, but the incident left Tracy a little shaken.

“The ball hit Todd so hard that it completely numbed him up from the shin to his foot. He had no feeling in his foot,” Tracy said. “If that inning was extended last night and we got to his spot in the order, I don’t even know if he could have even taken an at-bat. But he has absolutely no issues coming into tonight.

Then Tracy added: “Somebody was looking our for us, because if that ball was higher and hit him in the chest or the face, we have serious, serious problems. We don’t have our first baseman. He’s done.”

Here are the lineups for tonight’s game as the Rockies attempt to get back on track. They enter the game three games up on the Giants in the wild-card race after the Giants and starter Brad Penny were hammered 12-1 by the Dodgers today.

Despite Carlos Gonzalez’s struggles at the plate – 12 strikeouts in his last 24 at-bat and a .212 average with runners in scoring position – he is back in the starting lineup for tonight’s fireworks game against the Diamondbacks. He starts in left and hits eighth.

Manager Jim Tracy gave CarGo a verbal boost this afternoon, pointing out how CarGo’s defense has saved runs and saying he’s going to be patient with the outfielder at the plate.

Considering that the Rockies are 15-2 when Gonzalez starts, Tracy can afford to be patient – for now. But Gonzalez has often looked overmatched by big-league pitchers.

“I had a conversation with Carlos the other day in Los Angeles, and part of it involves him trying too hard,” Tracy said. “He has lost some of his strike-zone discipline. He has to go back to using the big part of the field. He’s trying to hit the ball too hard and too far. He’s been very pull-oriented.”

But Tracy made it clear he’s got CarGo’s back and there is no hint that the club is considering sitting Gonzalez down on the bench, or back down to Triple-A.

“We are going to continue to drive points home with him,” Tracy said. “But were are going to continue to give him opportunities that make sense. When you have guys like he and Dexter (Fowler), guys that are still a work in progress offensively, they aren’t going to get better by sitting here watching day after day after day.”

Here are lineups for tonight’s game, which looks as if it will be delayed again by rain.

Tucson – The Rockies’ grand finale before heading for Sin City takes them across town to Tucson Electric Park to face the Diamondbacks. While Ubaldo Jimenez pitches a minor-league game, Chaz Roe will face the D-Backs.

The Rockies face Arizona six times in the first 14 days of the season. Keep in mind that the Rockies went … gulp … 3-15 against the Diamondbacks last season. They were 1-5 against the D-Backs last April.

The Rockies leave for Las Vegas after today’s game (noon start Tuscon time, 1 p.m. in Denver). They’ll play two exhibition games against the Mariners, then fly back to Phoenix for Monday’s opener against the D-Backs at Chase Field.

Attention fans: The good news is that the Rockies won today. The bad news? It doesn’t count in the standings, as their 5-0 victory came in a B game against Arizona Diamondbacks’ minor leaguers, save for pitcher Jon Garland and catcher Miguel Montero.

The teams played the bottom of the ninth, despite the Rockies’ leading

Improved pitching performances highlighted the Rockies’ crisp performance. Jason Marquis threw three scoreless innings and hasn’t been scored on this spring. Though there were a few line outs mixed in, Marquis’ induced groundballs with his heavy sinker. Glendon Rusch followed, surrendering just two hits in two innings. His fastball touched 89 miles per hour. Rusch is seen as a swingman in the bullpen, capable of pitching long relief or providing a spot start if necessary.
In his best outing of the spring, Josh Fogg struck out two in two innings, hitting 86 to 88 miles per hour. He had struggled in two previous games, and admittedly needed to get on track as he competes for the fifth spot in the rotation.
The Rockies face the Mexican WBC team Thursday.

As momentum for Denver’s expansion candidacy grew in 1991, major league players were asked about the Mile High City. There wasn’t much support, weather and altitude the most common complaints. Read more…

The Rockies will have to do without Willy Taveras’ speed for one more game. The center fielder, apparently fully recovered from a strained quadriceps muscle, won’t be activated until Saturday. Taveras played four rehab games with Triple-A Colorado Springs, including a 12-inning game Thursday night.
“We just wanted to give Willy a day off, he could use a break,” manager Clint Hurdle said this afternoon.
The Rockies face a Diamondbacks team fresh off an important 8-7 win over San Diego. The victory landed the Diamondbacks a game ahead of the Padres in the National League West. Hurdle said there are three things that stand out about the Diamondbacks this season. First, their ace, Brandon Webb, is a bid for a second straight Cy Young Award. Second, closer Jose Valverde (41 saves) has been outstanding. Third, the Diamondbacks are 30-16 in one-run games this season and have won 11 of their last 12 one-run games.
The Rockies, by contrast, are 12-17 in one-run games.

The Rockies will have to do without Willy Taveras’ speed for one more game. The center fielder, apparently fully recovered from a strained quadriceps muscle, won’t be activated until Saturday. Taveras played four rehab games with Triple-A Colorado Springs, including a 12-inning game Thursday night.
“We just wanted to give Willy a day off, he could use a break,” manager Clint Hurdle said this afternoon.
The Rockies face a Diamondbacks team fresh off an important 8-7 win over San Diego. The victory landed the Diamondbacks a game ahead of the Padres in the National League West. Hurdle said there are three things that stand out about the Diamondbacks this season. First, their ace, Brandon Webb, is a bid for a second straight Cy Young Award. Second, closer Jose Valverde (41 saves) has been outstanding. Third, the Diamondbacks are 30-16 in one-run games this season and have won 11 of their last 12 one-run games.
The Rockies, by contrast, are 12-17 in one-run games.

Even Todd Helton couldn’t touch Arizona starter Livan Hernandez on Thursday. Helton entered the game hitting .500 (28-for-56) with nine doubles, two homers and a .580 on-base percentage against Hernandez. But Helton went 0-for-4 against him as his hitless streak reached three games. “He did what he always does,” said Helton, still hitting a robust .353. “He mixes his pitches up and spots them well. He’s got a lot of movement.” Hernandez surrendered only four hits in seven innings. He also drilled two singles off Rockies starter Josh Fogg and scored a run. In three starts against the Rockies this season, Hernandez has posted a 2.25 ERA.

Omar Quintanilla has taken over as the Rockiesâ€™ starting second baseman for the foreseeable future. His sparkling fielding and improved production at the plate (heâ€™s hitting .250), combined with Jamey Carrollâ€™s continuing struggles (.176), has forced manager Clint Hurdle to go with Quintanilla.
â€œHeâ€™s given us more offense than weâ€™ve seen in the past,â€? Hurdle said. â€œI think itâ€™s in direct correlation to him getting more at-bats. And because of Jameyâ€™s inconsistencies, heâ€™s getting more playing time.â€?
Asked if heâ€™s going to continue riding with Quintanilla as his everyday second baseman, Hurdle said: â€œI think so. Thatâ€™s the way I feel right now.â€?

If history is any indication, Todd Helton is headed for a big day at the plate. Helton owns Diamondbacks right-hander Livan Hernandez. Helton is hitting .500 (28-for-56) with nine doubles, two-homers and a .580 on-base percentage against him.

Dugout chatter
â€œHeâ€™s shown good determination throughout the spring and heâ€™s eager to help this team win. â€¦ Heâ€™s got to keep the ball down in the zone. Downhill plane is crucial for him.â€?
— Manager Clint Hurdle on right-handed pitcher Rodrigo Lopez, who makes his Rockies and Coors Field debut today.

Numbers of note
* During the first two games of the series, Diamondbacks hitters are hitting just .077 (1-for-13) against young Rockies reliever Manny Corpas and Ramon Ramirez.
* The Rockies are chasing the 600th home win in franchise history today. The club was 64-74 in its two years at Mile High Stadium and is 535-430 at Coors Field.

Desert Scene
Spent a month in Tucson last night. Or so the joke goes when a spring training game spins out of control. Through five innings, the Rockies and Diamondbacks combined for 20 runs, 24 hits and five errors. Read more…

Patrick, a third-generation Colorado native, is back for his second stint covering the Rockies. He first covered the team from 2005-2009, helping chronicle “Rocktober” in 2007 and also following the team’s playoff run in 2009.

Nick Groke has worked at The Denver Post since 1997, as a sports reporter, city reporter, entertainment writer and digital editor and producer, among other newsroom posts. He also writes regularly about boxing, soccer, MMA and NASCAR.